ZIMBABWE are set to ring some changes to the team in search of a consolation win against India in their third and final cricket one-day international (ODI) at Harare Sports Club this morning.
BY KEVIN MAPASURE
The hosts lost the first two matches in contrasting fashion where the four-run defeat in the first match was a close affair, while the 62-run defeat on Sunday was heavy and disappointing.
In the second match, Zimbabwe failed to cope with the tourists’ ruthless efficiency with both bat and ball and now seek to give the overall result a respectable reading.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Regis Chakabva could be called on to try and beef up the batting attack which struggled on Sunday where opener Chamu Chibhabha’s 72 received no backing.
Malcolm Waller, who also sat out the first two ODIs having missed the trip to Pakistan as well as the World Cup, could be called upon to try and fortify the batting.
At the top, Vusi Sibanda has struggled in this series so far, scoring just 22 runs and he could be a casualty, with the option of Hamilton Masakadza partnering Chibhabha.
Former captain Prosper Utseya, who has reinvented his bowling since the International Cricket Council (ICC) imposed a ban on his spin delivery, is another option the selectors could go with.
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The Dav Whatmore-coached side will be looking once again at Chibhabha and Elton Chigumbura for the runs that could inspire an important win for a side that is bereft of confidence.
Middle order batsman Sean Williams, who had a good run at the World Cup, has struggled to reproduce those runs and today presents another opportunity for him to get things right.
That, however, depends on his availability after he sustained a knee injury on Sunday where he had to take pain killers for him to bat.
If he is ruled out, it will be a further blow for Zimbabwe, having already lost Craig Ervine to injury, while Tinashe Panyangara also got injured in the first match.
For the locals, the two results have both been disappointing, however, in distinct fashion.
Zimbabwe will feel they should have won the first match where, needing 10 runs from the final over, they fell four short, but the second match was so disappointing in the manner the team lacked a fighting spirit, playing second fiddle from start to finish.
With so much cricket coming up this year and with all eyes on the ICC ODI rankings where Zimbabwe is ranked 11th and below Ireland, a win today carries so much importance.
Convenor of selectors Givemore Makoni yesterday said some changes should be expected today, in a bid to re-energise the team.
With the series already in the bag, the visitors could also give a run to the other players that have not played in this series.
Twenty-year-old Sanju Samson is in line for a debut after he was drafted into the squad as replacement for batsman Ambati Rayudu who pulled out due to an injury.
Rayudu, who scored 124 in the first ODI, injured his right quadriceps muscles and became the second Indian player to pull out after Karn Sharma withdrew due to a fractured finger.
“Rayudu pulled his right quadriceps muscles and will require 2-3 weeks of rehabilitation,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement.
